Manawatu teen puts in solid rep debut

First-class debuts don't include much more drama than the one Manawatu youngster Adam Milne found himself in.

The slightly built 17-year-old helped Central Districts home by one wicket against Canterbury at Pukekura Park on Sunday and finished with three not out.

Fellow Manawatu rep Bevan Griggs scored the winning run on his way to 53 from 51 balls as Central knocked off 361 for victory.

Milne was only called into the side as a replacement after Manawatu pace bowler Michael Mason was summoned to Black Caps duty.

Milne entered the game on the second day and became the sixth-youngest debutant for Central Districts and took four for 52 with his right-armers.

"It was a huge learning experience," he said.

He said being able to be there at the end capped off the occasion.

"That was pretty awesome too. I was pretty nervous."

Milne was better than your average No11 though and it showed when he smashed a handy 59 from No 9 for Manawatu against Bay of Plenty recently.

His bowling took some tap in the second innings during the weekend and he finished with none for 96 from 15 overs.

The poor figures were a combination of Milne's inconsistency, child-sized boundaries in New Plymouth and a lightning fast outfield.

Central spent 126 overs in the field as Canterbury attempted to be the sixth team in New Zealand first-class history to win after following on.

Shanan Stewart (227 not out) and Kruger van Wyk (178 not out) both scored career-best efforts and Milne said it was the longest time he had spent in the field.

"I probably didn't do quite as well as I'd like in the second innings," Milne said of his effort with the ball.

"It was just a huge difference in playing first-class quality."

It all made for a frenetic game which included Logan van Beek making his first-class debut as a replacement for Stewart who also joined the Black Caps squad.

Milne's first-class debut came as just reward after missing the New Zealand under-19 World Cup squad earlier this summer.

If he is selected again for Friday's match against Wellington in Napier, he will miss Manawatu's final Hawke Cup defence of the season against North Otago.

Central Districts selector Scott Briasco said Milne was one of three young pace bowlers likely to be given a run for the Stags this summer, alongside Manawatu's Bevan Small and Marlborough's Ben Wheeler.

"[It was] meteoric in terms of his rise and arrival with the withdrawal of Mase," Briasco said.

"He got a dose of reality in the bowling in the second innings.

"He's done a very good job for us."

Briasco said Milne was in line to hold his place in the side for Friday's game but no decisions had been made.

"We'll get him here for training. We aren't sure what's happening to Michael Mason and we also want to cover our options elsewhere."

- © Fairfax NZ News